Thinking of buying an "02 Cavalier, have questions.

Hi, my 1998 Subaru may be on it's last legs and I may be forced to replace her due to high mileage. Last weekend I rented an '02 base Cavalier. Consumer reports rags the heck out of them, saying they are crude and outdated but I didn't think it was too bad and thought the ride was pretty smooth, actually much better then my Subaru. I compared it with my mother's '99 Ford Escort and liked the ride of the Cavalier much better. Dealer said these can be had with approximately 30k miles for about 8 grand which sounds good to me as I am about to become a homeowner (condo) for the first time so new car prices and loans are out of the question. I have some questions, though.

How reliable are these cars for the first 100k miles or so? I put about 20k miles on a year and say I bought one with 30k miles and took out a three year loan, at the end of the loan, 100k miles would be in the ball park. How do the brakes and exhaust hold up on these cars? Also are they advanced enough so one could possibly hope to get 150k miles plus decent lifetime out of these cars? I did out of my Toyota Corolla, the Subaru is not going to make it.

Also my main complaint at least with this rental was the headlight system. I am quite nightblind so this is of importance to me. The range of lighting from right to left was uneven with darker spots mixed with brighter spots within the spectrum. Plus the throw, particular in high beam seemed subpar. Does this sound like the norm? Maybe it's because the lights on the rental were severely out of alighnment. I noticed there was some sort of piece, I assume a reflector that was placed over the lamp, I would presume to reflect the light back to the main reflector? If this is indeed the norm, are there relatively cheap aftermarket enhancements that can improve the headlight system?

Also for a last question, is the traction control useful and are the ABS effective? I recall driving a roommates early 90s Cavalier and I was not impressed with the ABS as there was severe pulsations so bad that you could feel the brake pedal kicking back in a major way. The Subaru's ABS has been excellent with very rapid pulsations without excessive kickback to the brake pedal.

Thanks for any and all responses. I am concerned with the head light system.

Well....your dealer is going to fock you over! I bought the car you see below with 27k miles for 5990 with an extended warranty. After down payment brought it to 6700k. Base model with only a/c. Brakes are like any car, depends on how hard are you on them and if you like pulling your e-brake and fish tailing then you will spend lots in brakes. To buy new parts and fix them your self very cheap, i re did my drums and new brakes for 70 bucks and i upgrades my fronts to power slotted rotors with raybestos quiet stop.. 200 bucks but that was my choice. Regular would run you like 40 bucks total for new rotors and brakes. THe headlights were prolly just out of focus and there are soo many different upgrades for headlights. You can go HID and blind the shit out of people, i'm not sure if they make projectors for 00 and up but those will brighten things up, the HID kits run a few hundred dollars up almost 1k i think. Currently i have Sylvania Silver star bulbs and i get people flashin me when my lows are on, then i blind the shit out of them with my highs... those ran me 78 for highs and lows... I cast shadows in people in front of me and i know it pisses them off. Now the ABS works pretty well but i am not a fan of it. I put my car into a ditch at 65 mph last winter and some how had now damage... i was thankful.. they just pulsed the whole way in so i pulled the e-brake and locked the back up and put it in backwards...fresh snow helped! This wouldn't have happend if fockin old timers wouldn't pull out in front of oncoming traffic and i had 2 cops go by neither of the 2 stopped and ask if everything was ok...so they have a new rep in my books....overall get the cavy and you will be happy with it, just keep ontop of the routine matinence at 30k,36k,and 45k mile marks!

no thats a good buy for an 02 cavalier. I bought my 2001 Cavalier Z24 with 32k Miles on it 4 months ago for 8,500. IF your going to buy a cavy get the Z24 or LS models ONLY! You will be much happier in the long run. The Base models are crap, i know i used to own one. ALso check to make sure which engine your getting, in 2002 they made the cars available with 3 different engines. The 2.2L that made 115HP and sucks major balls, the 2.2L Ecotec which makes 140HP and is pretty peppy just sounds bad, and the 2.4L that comes in the Z24 models and makes 150HP and sounds sweet. Id suggest you avoid the 2.2L 115HP engine at all cost, it just sucks. It even made a couple of list for the top ten worst engines.

I agree with -Jayson-... I just bought a 2002 Cav Z24, and I love it.. The 2.4 150hp engine is really nice, and even at stock, it pushes the car really nice...Price wise it's not a bad price at all.. I paid $9800 out the door, tax, and all for mine, and I love it.. I'm already modding it..You won't be upset with the car, it's a great car, and you can depend on the Cav for a long time...Good luck

Thanks for the reply guys. It would be the 2002 with the base model with the base 115hp engine. Is the engine really that bad? I know it doesn't match up with the ecotech performancewise, but is it reliable to crank out a major amount of miles? I'm not looking to soup the car up, I just want cheap basic transportation for a few years of reliability.

the engine got listed as one of the top ten worst engines of all time by popularhotroding.com

CHEVY 2.2L I-4

Recently replaced by the all-new Ecotec 2.2, this pre-Ecotec inliner was a disaster. Lacking in power, unreliable, and hungry for head gaskets, the anemic four was offered in many GM front-drivers (like the Beretta and Cavalier), and the popular line of Chevy S-10/GMC S-15 pickups. Press reviews at the time recommended against backing these engines with automatic transmissions, especially in the pickups. With pathetic power and unreliable durability, what could be worse? A series of steel freeze plugs were also known to corrode, providing a messy time bomb that could go off at almost any mileage reading past 50,000. It's no wonder GM used absolutely no engineering or design from this engine when developing the Ecotec. We think GM should offer Ecotec upgrades to all owners of these pathetic mills, but alas, the designs have so much variance between them, swaps are no easy task. Too bad.
http://www.popularhotrodding.com/features/0408phr_worst/index.html

the engine got listed as one of the top ten worst engines of all time by popularhotroding.com

http://www.popularhotrodding.com/features/0408phr_worst/index.html


Agreed, the ecotec engine is incredible. I had a blast taking my new cav out on the mountain roads this past week on my vacation time. Not once did the car lose power going up steep roads, I kept up with everyone else, something my old 93 cav could never come close to doing.

its Popular Hot Rodding, they only thing they care about is their holly headers and if their goin against a hemi. they dont have any respect for sport compacts... there so i could give a flopping fock what they say!

Agreed, the ecotec engine is incredible. I had a blast taking my new cav out on the mountain roads this past week on my vacation time. Not once did the car lose power going up steep roads, I kept up with everyone else, something my old 93 cav could never come close to doing.
i never said the ecotec engine is incredible. . . its a step up from the 2.2L, but i still think the 2.4L was the best engine put in the cavies. The ecotec would be better if it didnt sound like a lawn mower on steroids.

If you're just interested a good reliable engine, the 2.2/2200 is fine. I've driven a few, they weren't rockets, but they went over 200,000 miles and were clearly abused by their previous owners. They used to have head gasket issues in the mid or early 90s but GM seems to have taken care of that during the later 90s. That's probably what that list is referring to. Plus I wouldn't trust a magazine that primarily deals with the Chevrolet small block V8 (and to a much more limited extent, Ford and Mopar V8s) to be experts on 4 cylinder engines. I wouldn't worry about the reliability of a 2002 model year 2200 engine. Just keep up with the routine maintenance. Of course, if you want more power, the 2.4 TwinCam or 2.2 Ecotec is the way to go. Just watch out for the waterpump going out on the 2.4, its a bitch to replace and costs $800 or more to have done at a dealer. #3 bearing likes to go out too, but thats probably not a problem unless you're running it really hard/racing a lot. The Eco is still fairly new, so I'm not sure of the trouble spots on it, yet. I'll let you know if mine breaks. :p
The front brakes on the 80's early 90's Cavaliers tended to wear out fast, but I don't know about the later ones. My '99 went over 30,000 on the original front pads before I traded it in. I never replaced them. The headlights I thought were good, but I have above average vision. For comparison, though, my '03 Cavalier headlights seem to light up the road better than the ones on my '99 Chevy Venture minivan. Could be an alignment issue, but I'm not sure. Exhausts on these cars seem to hold up well, if you take care of them. The wife and I had a 1990 Cavalier and never replaced any exhaust components. It held up through Pennsylvania winters for 10 years or so till I finally blew it up and junked the car at over 200,000 miles. I spray off my undercarriage/exhaust included often though, even during the winter.